Sackville Street <1>
Friday 6th Novr 1835
My dear Henry
Many thanks from me & Bimbo <2> for your Souvenir of the eventful day – The weather here is so yellow & abominable that we mean to stay as short a time as possible – & though I must see Cartwright, who will not be in town till Monday, it is most likely we shall go to Richmond either before or immediately after; as with some contrivance Ld Mt E. <3> will be able to hold us.– It would be therefore useless to ask you to come now, tho’ you may imagine how much I wish to see you Our plans are as usual entirely en l’air; but we have partly given up the Blickling Scheme for the present, as the place always disagrees with Ld V. <4> at this time of year – Entre nous, <5> it is not impossible we should all go to Mt Edgcumbe <6> for a short time, as his affairs require his presence there, & we also wish much to see it again – in that case we might perhaps take a glimpse of you en passant, either going or coming – I cannot build upon this hope yet, so will say no more for the present. I will be sure to write when anything is decided. The Kerrys <7> arrived last night, all the way from Calais in one day – they had a passage of 3 hours & we had one of 2h 40m from Boulogne – they go to Bowood <8> tomorrow. – There are none of our belongings in town but Uncle William, <9> whom I have not seen yet – We are going to Drury Lane tonight – Ld Mt E. recommends the New Opera, the Siege of Rochelle, <10> & the Singers, so I suppose they must be good – At Paris we went to the play almost every night we did not go to a party – At the Français, the new tragedy in prose by Casimir de la Vigne <11> [sic] is most interesting – it is called “Don Juan d’Autriche” – It is in five acts, each of which is as long as three ordinary ones; so that it occupies alone the whole evening – One gets better acquainted with the personages by this means – It was admirably acted & the actors looked & dressed exactly like the portraits one knows of the principal persons – I think I have actually been liée <12> with Philip 2nd! –
Addio fratello mio caro <13> – Love to Constance & Ela <14> – I long to see you all –
Yr affte Sister
Caroline
London November six 1835 Mt Edgcumbe
Henry Fox Talbot Esq
Lacock Abbey
Chippenham
Notes:
1. 31 Sackville Street, London residence of the Feildings, often used as a London base by WHFT.
2. William Henry Edgcumbe, ‘Val’, 4th Earl Mt Edgcumbe (1832–1917), JP & Ld Steward of the Royal Household; WHFT’s nephew ‘Bimbo’.
3. Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount-Edgcumbe (1764–1839).
4. Ernest Augustus Edgcumbe, Lord Valletort, 3rd Earl of Mt Edgcumbe (1797–1861), WHFT’s brother-in-law.
5. Between us.
6. Mt Edgecumbe, near Plymouth: seat of the Earl of Mt Edgcumbe
7. William Thomas Fitzmaurice, 4th Earl of Kerry (1811–1836), MP; and his wife, Lady Louisa Emma, née Fox Strangways (1785-1851).
8. Bowood House, nr Calne, Wiltshire, 5 mi NE of Lacock: seat of the Marquess of Lansdowne.
9. William Thomas Horner Fox Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester (1795–1865), botanist, art collector & diplomat.
10. Michael William Balfe (1808–1870), Siege of Rochelle.
11. Don Juan d’Autriche, Casimir Delavigne (1793–1843)
12. Personally acquainted.
13. Goodbye my dear brother.
14. Constance Talbot, née Mundy (1811–1880), WHFT’s wife, and Ela Theresa Talbot (1835–1893), WHFT’s 1st daughter.